Once Upon a Wild Dream
by Amegasuki
Summary: Fate could not be changed, no matter what visions you may see of the future. There were always a few exceptions, of course. It all depended on the will of the person to carry out changing what has been foreseen. I will take matters into my own hands, no matter how nervous and afraid I am. I'm a Hyuuga after all. AU SasuHina, rated M for violence and language... possible SC.
1. Foreboding

_A/N: This is the new story that I've been working on when I wasn't working on Believing- which you should all go read. Right now. It's at 7 chapters currently, but there'll be 8 on Friday most likely around 8ish since I'm finishing the chapter around 5 that day and editing it the next three hours since I'm… a very disorganized person when it comes to writing since my brain is on step 7 in the story when in the actual story… I'm only on step 2 in the story. So it takes me a while… which I will make up for by making it as awesome as possible :D_

_Anyhow, this story is something that I had a few daydreams about and then I finally decided to write it out… and it's turning out fantastic- in my head, anyway. So without further ado, I give you… Once Upon a Wild Dream!_

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing of Naruto- or Reimei no Arcana, a manga that I got this idea from that I absolutely ADORE! So yes, this is what Naruto would be like… if I was able to combine the two. Hopefully it'll be as amazing to you guys as it is to me.**_

Once Upon a Wild Dream

Chapter One

Foreboding

_Harsh panting filled the air and I struggled to quiet my breathing to no avail. The more I tried to stay quiet, the slower I ran and the better the chances were that they would catch up to me… Instead, I ran faster, and the pants became much more prominent. Sweat began to drip drown my brow but I wasted no effort in whipping it away. Every motion was key to survival- there could be no error. The sounds of the forest began to increase in volume, breaking me out of my concentration regarding my breathing. Growls of fierce, massive beasts followed my every step. High screeches of anger and despair drove themselves into my ears. Small whimpers came in tune with every step I took. The soil under my feet began to get more entwined and littered with vines and roots. Every so often I would stumble upon one and my heart would stop, waiting for the tingling sensation on the back of my neck to tell me that it was all over. Never giving myself the chance to completely fall on the ground, I would quickly reach out to steady myself and then press on. There would be no pauses, no slowing down no matter how tired I became._

_Finally, I could see a blue, hazy light in front of me. Pushing myself to run faster, the branches that I had been able to duck and weave around before began to scrape against my skin. I gasped each and every time they nicked me, flinching whenever a cut was prodded with a curious branch poking out of an unusual place in the tree. Still, I kept moving, never daring to glance backwards, only looking forwards. It was not what behind me that mattered- I had dwelled on it for too long. No, now it was what lied in front of me that would help me. I was running from the past that I had created from my actions, and the only way for me to figure a way out… was to look forward._

_The blue, vague lighting ahead of me became closer… much closer. 'Just a few more feet,' I thought to myself, a slight shred of hope weeding itself into my heart. Taking those few last steps forward, I crashed through the foliage of bushes in my way and dropped to the ground. Taking in big gulps of air, I looked around, searching. _

_The clearing was completely bathed in moonlight. Stone covered all of the clearing, clumps of grass peeking through the cracks. Broken towers were at each corner, empty and cold ever since they had been deserted. In the middle of the clearing in front of me stood a stone shelter, having only three walls and a roof. The wall that was missing wasn't completely gone- a three foot piece of it remained, varying in height at every part. I peered into the darkness, knowing that someone should be there. A smile lit my face as my gaze landed upon a shadowy figure of a stocky build. The person was definitely male- the size of the torso and forearms, as faint as they were just being shadows, were definitely of male proportions. _

"_You're here!" I breathed out in a sigh, trembling as I stood up._

_Stumbling towards the figure, I reached out towards them. Their pale hand reached towards mine, a star shaped scar on the back of their hand calming me with the familiarity of it. Grasping their hand, I was abruptly pulled forward over the three foot wall and into their arms. Drugging warmth invaded my system, and I realized that even though I had been running and sweating, I was still extremely cold. It wasn't much of a shock considering it was winter, but not realizing that I was cold surprised me. It was as if my body had gone numb and rejected any signs of temperature changes. My shivering began to slow down, and my eyelids drooped._

"_Thank you for helping me-" I started to say before I felt a sharp pain in the middle of my chest. _

_Gasping, I stumbled back from the person, clutching at my chest, tripping over the wall and falling backwards over it. My legs stayed hooked around the wall as my back ached from landing on the ground. Shifting onto my lower arms, I took my hand off of my chest. Warm liquid trickled in between my fingers. Lifting my hand, I stared at it dazedly in the moonlight. It was completely black, dripping the dark liquid onto my face. Glancing down at my chest, the dark liquid had spread completely over my chest, changing the pure white of my dress to a dark and sinister black in the lighting. I had been stabbed. Lifting my head back to the shadowy figure, I moved my lips to ask one last question._

"_Why…?" I whispered, tears falling down my face._

_The figure started to answer me, but my vision quickly faded from gray to black and then I was no more._

::-::

Lurching off of the bed, I gasped loudly into the early morn. Sweat matted my hair to my face and I pushed the dark locks aside. Panting, I looked about myself wildly, taking in my surroundings. I was in a bed- _my bed, _I thought- with light blue sheeting and butterfly imprints stitched into it. The walls were the same color as my bed, only they had white lilies painted on them instead of butterflies. On the other side of the room was a large desk with a black wooden brush and an antique, intricate hand-held mirror. A silver, iron chair sat before it, a cloak draped across the back. Behind the chair was a set of double doors which led out into the hallway-both white in color. To my right was a large, six foot dresser which was opened slightly as it could never close. A pink piece of fabric poked out of the opening. To my left was a small, dark blue chest with a silver lock. Intricate carvings of faeries and merfolk covered the chest. The floor was the same white that it always was. Glancing behind me and noticing that the drapes were still closed, I sat up and opened them, sunlight streaming in from the outdoors. Quickly opening the windows as well, a blue jay hopped up onto the sill and chirped to me a sweet good morning. Smiling, I grabbed the bowl on the table next to me that was full of seeds and placed it on the sill. The blue jay hopped over and began to eat its breakfast and I sighed.

_Yet another nightmare… This would be the fifth time I've had this dream- it's become more frequent, _I thought to myself. Lately I had been having the same, reoccurring nightmare. I still hadn't figured out who the person was or why they killed me; they just did. I had had the dream about a month ago. At first, it had only happened that one time. Then, a couple weeks later, it occurred again. Thinking nothing of it, another week passed… and I had the dream again. The past three nights in a row I have had that same nightmare. I could also feel something coming on the horizon- something was going to change. I could feel the electricity in the air, tense and alert. Danger was heading my way.

A knock on the door pulled me out of my thoughts. Glancing up I pulled the sheeting onto me more instinctively. "Come in," I called.

The door opened and in walked a brown haired maid. Her hair was in a familiar pair of buns upon her child-shaped head. Her brown eyes peered at me warmly. Her skin was slightly tanned from working outside a lot, and her black and white long-sleeved, long-skirted dress hung off of her body. Upon her feet were dark, worn leather boots. I smiled at her.

"Good morning, Tenten," I said softly.

"Good morning, Hinata-hime*," she replied, making her way over to the dresser.

Opening it, she clucked her tongue at me and shook her head. "Just how do you manage to get so many clothes in such a short amount of time?" she asked me, smiling all the while.

"Father always wants to dress me up, and you know how he hates it when I wear the same thing twice within a month, so… he took me shopping again yesterday evening," I explained as she pulled out a sky blue dress with a white bodice.

"Ah, that is true. He gets so uptight about your family's image, doesn't he?" She walked over to me and lifted the covers off of my body, pulling me out of bed.

"Well, we are the prestigious Hyuuga Clan," I replied, sighing softly.

Hiashi Hyuuga, my father, was the ruler of Northern Konoha. He was a rather… materialistic ruler. Although he was a very fine leader, his first priority was his family's image. We had to look, act, talk, and behave like the royalty we were. We were not allowed to mingle with the locals nor were we, apparently, allowed to wear the same clothing twice a month. I was the child that he was the least fond of- not only was I not a strong, willful Hyuuga, but I would go out of my way to talk to commoners- as he put it- and look after them. To him, I was much too kind-hearted and gentle to be a true Hyuuga, but since I was his first born and no one had challenged my right to the throne, I was his heir and he was, for lack of a better term, stuck with me.

"True, true- please suck in and hold it for a few moments," Tenten said as she tightened the strings on the corset, nearly crushing my ribcage.

I winced and struggled to hold in the pain-filled gasp that attempted to burst out from between my lips. Feeling a slight bit of pride when it didn't, I lifted my arms above my head and slide into the dress Tenten had chosen for me to wear today. It was one of my finer dresses, so I assumed we had to go address the public or interact with someone from outside the castle today.

"So, what am I expected to do today, Tenten?"

"You're meeting with your future hu-… with someone that Hiashi-sama* so desires you to meet," Tenten quickly corrected herself, fidgeting slightly.

I frowned slightly at Tenten's abnormal antics. This person that I was going to meet… I wasn't allowed to know who it was before I arrived. Whoever this person was… apparently Father believed that if I knew who it was I would find some excuse not to come. Not knowing who it was and not being allowed to know had piqued my curiosity, something Father used time and time again to get what he wanted out of me. Sighing, knowing I wouldn't be able to get out of this I walked over to my desk and sat down, picking up the brush and the hand mirror.

"What time shall the guest- or guests- be arriving?" I asked, hoping I could get an answer to this, at least.

"In about an hour; Hiashi-sama wants you to arrive in the throne room in ten minutes for a quick debriefing. Neji-sama will be there as well," Tenten tacked on as an afterthought.

I sighed again. Neji, although he was one of the kindest people here to me next to Tenten, was not someone I wanted to be with in the same room as Father. Neji is my cousin; his father died when he was four years of age. Father took him in and we had been raised as brother and sister ever since then, but Neji… was always someone who believed that destiny could not be changed. He would constantly talk about the destiny of himself and others around him, saying that people were born to do certain things in life, to be certain people in life, and nothing could change that even if you could foresee what was to come. Father also believed in that whole-heartedly. While I wasn't particularly in agreement or disagreement with their ideals, having them spout the same thing over and over again for a long period of time was quite… grueling, even for someone as obedient and patient as myself.

"Alright, then." I quickly brushed out my long, dark, indigo locks and left them hanging at my back, reaching mid-waist.

Glancing in the mirror, I quickly put my bangs into place. They reached my eyebrows and the ends framed my face. My skin was flawless and reminded me of porcelain- pretty, but fragile and easily broken. My eyes were the same lavender color as all the Hyuuga clan, palest in the middle and darkening slightly at the edges- the only sign that could show that we had pupils. My eyes were either hated or loved- there was no one that was indecisive. They were such a rare, unique color that most were either afraid of or in awe of. The Hyuuga Clan's eyes were said to look into the souls of people and based on that, we were able to predict their future. It was something that has been said for generations, but I doubted that it was true.

Standing up, I turned and headed towards the door, Tenten rushing forward to hold the door open for me. I smiled at her, and murmured a quick "thank you" before heading out into the hall and towards the throne room. The halls were completely tiled in black and white- and very spacious. The walls went at least fifty to sixty feet high, and only the first four feet were in black tile, the rest was white. The flooring was patterned similar to that of a checkerboard, alternating between black and white. Every ten feet or so there was either a painting on the wall or a statue and a table at each, blue hydrangeas in a light purple vase below the painting or next to the statue. I very much adored the style of our castle- it was light, royal, and simple. Of course, even though it was simple didn't mean it wasn't expensive. I didn't even want to think about what each painting cost, let alone the whole castle.

Striding down the hall at a quick place, I turned at the fourth door on the left, knocking softly against the white wood. There was a rustle of fabric on the other side before the door opened and a servant girl, in the same outfit as Tenten, bowed her head and held the door open for me to enter. Nodding at her and smiling- though I doubt she could have seen it considering her eyes were closed and her head was still bowed- I walked into the throne room and headed towards Father.

The throne room was decorated exactly like the halls, only at the end there were five blue and gold throne chairs at the far wall instead of a never ending black and white expanse of space. The tallest, and most intricate, chair was the one in the middle, which my father sat at. Beside him on the right was his current wife, Meien, who wasn't my biological mother. She was Hanabi, my younger sister's mother. Meien had the traditional dark- in her case, black- hair and lavender eyes that all Hyuugas owned, though her hair was much shorter than the norm. Her eyes were fierce yet kind as she gazed upon me, her white, flowing, elegant dress embroidered with lilies flowing about her. She was just as pale as I was and could have easily passed as my own mother.

My father cleared his throat, a signal that he was slightly irritated with the slow pace I had walking up to him. I blushed slightly and increased my pace, taking in his expression to see what kind of mood he was in. His dark, chocolate brown hair was pulled back from his face and hung to his shoulder blades. His face was completely blank, as were his lavender eyes, which were slightly darker than mine. There were a few wrinkles up on his face around his mouth and eyes- crow's feet and laugh lines, although I've never heard him laugh in my whole life. It seemed as though he wasn't extremely irritated with me… yet.

Standing before them, I put my hands at my sides and held my chin up high, knowing it was what my father would want to see. Instead of a flicker of approval in his eyes that I had expected to see, there was a flicker of uncertainty before he masked his emotions again. He motioned for me to come sit at his side with a flick of his wrist and I quickly moved forward to do so.

_I thought he was going to talk to me before our guests arrived…? _I thought, confused. _Unless he still plans on doing so, but he never has me sit down next to him and then talk to me- he thinks it ruins our image. I was sure he was going to have me memorize something to say… _My thoughts trailed off as the servant girl opened the door yet again and Neji quickly entered, not sparing her a single glance which made me frown slightly. _Neji usually at least gave them a slight nod as recognition, even if they didn't see it…_

As he got closer, I noticed that he was unusually anxious; he was frowning in displeasure and his eyes, the same color as mine, were clouded over and it appeared that he was in deep thought. His face was slightly paler than usual- almost the same color as mine. His dark hair- the same as that of Father's- hung in a low ponytail behind his back, a little higher than mid-waist in length and was slightly unruly as if he had been in a rush to come here… or he hadn't been paying close attention. He wore a white, high-collared silk button up shirt and the traditional black tights that all royalty wore- or at least, for the men. His dark, indigo colored cloak was unbuttoned and hung off of his shoulders, though a quick shrug of his shoulders fixed that. On his feet were extremely expensive and shiny onyx colored black boots. Father motioned for him to go sit down as well, without saying a word. Biting my lip, I wondered if it would be alright if I asked what was going on, but quickly decided against it. If Father wanted me to know, he would have told me- or at least shown me through action. Neji walked over to me and sat beside me, still not completely focused on what was going on.

We waited tensely in silence for a few moments before I heard the clack of steel-tipped boots against the ground outside of the room. Fidgeting slightly and earning a disapproving glare from Father, I watched the door. _The guests are earlier than they were supposed to be… _I thought as I watched the servant open the door yet again.

In walked three figures dressed in dark cloaks. The one on the left was the tallest, with a very dark red cloak- almost black in color… as was Neji's, and the other two guests, though the colors that they were tinted in were different. The one in the middle, the smallest of the three figures, had a dark green tinted cloak. The one on the end, average in height, had a dark brown colored cloak. They all walked forward and knelt at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the throne.

Father stood up and walked forward slightly, dressed the same way as Neji- only he was slightly taller. He gazed upon the three figures for a few moments before he spoke. "Rise, and take off your cloaks," he commanded, his voice cold and harsh.

They quickly did as they were told and I looked at them, shocked. They were all princes of the other kingdoms. On the right was Sasuke Uchiha, his raven hair and red eyes with black tomoes a dead giveaway. His skin was slightly paler than mine, if that was even possible, and his expression was completely black. He- as all the other men in the room- was dressed in the same outfit. The Uchiha Clan ruled over Southern Konoha.

Their closest allies were the Shibaku Clan of Western Konoha. Gaara Shibaku stood in the middle, his vibrant, jagged and slightly lengthy crimson hair the only color in the room that stood out immediately. His pastel green eyes were empty and outlined in black. On his forehead was the sign for "love", in red on the left corner. His skin was slightly darker than mine- almost like Neji's when he wasn't so… stressed out.

Next to him was the Hyuuga Clan's closest allies- the Inuzuka Clan. The brown hair and black eyes of his almost made him seem like he was an ordinary local or a servant, but the red marks under his eyes said differently. They were straight, fang like markings going from his eye down to the middle of his cheek. They started of thick and thinned out at the bottom. His skin was tan and he wore a smirk on his face… and what looked like fangs poked out from his mouth. His hair was spiky and covered his forehead, but he seemed a little anxious and then I heard the bark outside the door. _Oh, Akamaru must be waiting outside… Father doesn't care much for animals, _I thought, feeling a pang of sympathy.

"Now that you are all here, I would like to formally announce why you are all gathered here today," Father started, putting his hands behind his back. "You are all here, Princes of the four main, vast kingdoms, as suitors."

I felt a knot form in my stomach and a chill go down my spine. _I… don't this is going to be good for me. I feel very… uncomfortable. Something's going to happen- _my thoughts went cold as I heard Father's next words.

"You are all going to attempt wooing my daughter, Hinata-hime, for her hand in marriage."

I, never in my entire life thus far, have ever heard a silence as deep, tense, shocked and angry as the one that followed my father's words.

::-::

_Hime- Princess_

_Sama- A form of respect referring to someone much higher in rank than you. Hiashi-sama would, in English, be translated into something close to Lord Hiashi._

_A/N: And there it is! :D The start of my new, amazing story! This is going to be so much fun to write… Muahahah! Ah, the suspense that… is far, far in the future as I am currently thinking too far ahead of myself. Any who, please review/rate/ask for a story/tell me how bad this is… something. Anything. I want to hear from you all! Your reviews are my inspiration, the more they are, the better quality of my chapters and the more… interesting and lengthy the plot might get. I'll probably only update this story once a week- I'm pretty busy with Believing and I want to leave time to respond to reviews, make stories upon requests and, of course, read other author's stories… So yeah. Busy, busy. Any who. That's right. REVIEW PLEASE! :D_


	2. Who Am I

_A/N: I just couldn't stay away from this story too long… It's so addicting and wonderful- it's like a mind-movie, that's how awesome it is. Or, at least, that's how it is for me. Without further ado, here it is- Chapter 2! DUDE THAT RHYMED! (Yes, I'm very easily distracted… Forgive me!)_

_Thank you Sammy! I'll try to update this story as much as I can, but my main focus is Believing so it probably won't be as often as you like, so I pushed this one out sooner than I planned- besides, I'm almost done with the next chapter for Believing so I thought I'd give myself a lil' reward for all my hard work ;)_

_DISCLAIMER: I own nothing of Naruto. No matter how awesome you may think this story is, Naruto isn't of my creation. Just kidding. My story isn't that great… but still. I DON'T OWN NARUTO._

Once Upon a Wild Dream

Chapter 2

Who am I…

::-::-::-::-::

I walked slowly through the hall, my eyes blank and unseeing. Somehow, I managed to arrive in front of my door and quickly entered. Ignoring the possible consequences of my actions, I threw myself onto my bed and began to cry. Sniffling and whimpering to myself, I clutched the sheets and buried my face into the pillows. _Why? Why now? Father, you hate me don't you…?_ I thought, heart aching as a sob wrenched free of my chest.

The things that occurred in the throne room after the silence that had followed Father's words were completely chaotic. It was, of course, predictable, given the rumored personalities of the princes from the Western, Southern and Eastern Kingdoms- but what had shocked me (and hurt me) the most was Neji's reaction…

::-::-::

We sat, stood and waited in silence for one of the princes to snap. After a few more moments, our patience was rewarded. Sasuke angrily walked forward, throwing his cape around his shoulders. He stopped at the step below Father, locking his raging, red eyes upon him. Their gazes locked- red against the almost-white lavender, bloodthirsty against cold and calm. A few moments past before Sasuke turned his gaze towards me. His eyes… were different from before. Instead of the three pronged circles surrounding his black pupil, there was… a symbol of some sort- an intricate, triangular shape. I flinched slightly away from him and his eyes slowly returned to normal. Contempt and disgust filled his eyes as they stared into my own. Abruptly, he turned, cloak billowing behind him as he attempted to leave the room.

"Prince Sasuke," Father called, stopping Sasuke reluctantly in his tracks. "You must stay to hear the rest of my- and your father's- decision."

Sasuke turned slowly, the tomoes in his eyes swirling. Frowning in distaste and anger, he moved to stand where he was in the beginning. Only, this time, he was glaring at everyone in the room. _Almost like a… vampire forced to behave like a human, _my mind subconsciously whispered.

I looked down at my hands and relaxed them from the fists that they had been clenched in. Glancing up at Father as he turned to me, I stared into his steady, cold gaze. My own eyes, I was sure, were confused and fearful. Disapproval radiated from him in waves and before I was able to look down again he grasped my hand. Pulling me forward to stand next to him, I noticed how… firm, strong and cold his hands were. It was as if his hands reflected the personality deep within him. I shivered.

"Well, isn't she a beauty! I wouldn't mind chasin' after her," a cocky, playful voice stated.

Flushing slightly, my gaze met that of Kiba's- the one who had made that… comment. His eyes were hungry as they travelled up and down my clothed form. He leaned forward and seemed to actually _sniff _in my direction like a dog. He seemed to register the scent in his mind- though I doubted he could actually smell me, standing over ten feet away. Blushing even more as he gave me a feral grin and his tongue darted out to lick his lips, I quickly averted my gaze.

I hesitantly glanced at Gaara, the only one whose face had not changed expressions the whole time we've been in here- besides Father, of course. His eyes, I finally noticed, weren't actually_ here _but were staring through me. They were blank, expressionless… and so very, very empty. It was as if I was looking into a damp, dark cavern. Yet, that pale, pastel color was so enchanting, although the emotions- or lack thereof- were slightly eerie, I couldn't tear my gaze away from them. He was so… enchanting. Beautiful. I almost took a step towards him when two things quickly occurred in succession.

Father gripped my hand tightly and held me back as Gaara finally looked at me. What expression that had shown up in his eyes quickly made my blood run cold. His eyes were bright with bloodlust and hunger. What I had thought before was a dark, damp cavern was actually me, burning at a stake and then being ripped apart piece by piece- I almost screamed and backed away, if not for Father's hand holding my own. I had never been so fearful for my life, nor so grateful for my Father's presence in my life thus far. And although Father's hand was helpful, it wasn't enough for the fear that wracked my body and mind. I wanted to move closer to Father, to cower and hide behind his back, but I couldn't- I would receive grave punishment and a long, grueling lecture that would leave me broken down in tears.

I turned my gaze slightly above his head and attempted to regain the color in my complexion, instead. Father cleared his throat, regaining everyone's attention. Thankfully, Gaara had stopped staring at me- I could feel his gaze disappear from my body. His stare had been so heavy that it was felt physically… it was terrifying. I resisted the urge to look back into his eyes, knowing another fright like that would result in punishment- I wouldn't be able to control my reactions another time.

"Now then," Father continued, "the conditions are that no violence or threats will be used to scare her into choosing you over the other suitors. My daughter will stay in each Kingdom for three months, starting next week- the beginning of summer. I have no particular preference for the order, but your fathers did. Hinata will spend the summer with Prince Gaara of the Western Kingdom. Autumn will be spent with Prince Sasuke of the Northern Kingdom. Winter will be, of course, spent with Prince Kiba of the Eastern Kingdom."

Father turned slightly to eye Sasuke's suddenly thoughtful expression. Gone was all the anger and displeasure, only a dark… sadistic, thoughtful expression remained as he stared at me. I let out a shaky breath, wondering at the insanely torturous idea he had planned for me when I spent three months with him. Father took a deep breath and then continued.

"Spring will be spent here. You are all fee to visit her here at that time, to talk to her and attempt to sway her decision, but she will choose her husband by the last week of spring," he concluded.

Father looked at the three men standing before us, analyzing their expression. Sasuke was still looking at me thoughtfully, though a touch of contempt had entered his gaze and I knew whatever he was going to do to me in the future would not be pleasant. Resisting the urge to fidget uneasily, I looked away from him. I skipped right over Gaara- no need to scare myself any more than necessary- though I did notice his expression had slipped back into the pretense of being empty. Almost breathing a sigh of relief, my gaze landed on Kiba. He was still eyeing me hungrily; and when my gaze met his, he winked and gave me a playful grin. Again, my face turned pink, but I deemed him friendly enough to give him a hesitant smile before glancing down nervously.

"Any questions?" Father asked them, meaning for it to be rhetorical.

Kiba immediately spoke up, of course. "Can we just choose now? It's obvious that I'm going to be the one she ends up with. These two cold-hearted bastards won't give her the time of day," he said, putting his arms behind his head.

"No. Any reasonable questions?"

Silence followed my Father's words until someone stepped up behind me. I didn't need to turn to look at the person. I knew it was Neji. Only he would dare to act out and ruin Father's image for my sake- at least, I hoped it was for my sake…

"Hiashi-sama… You're sending Hinata off to her death!" he said angrily.

"That is not a question nor was I addressing you- return to your seat or leave the room," Father said darkly.

_D-death…? _I shuddered, fear rising within me again. _What does Neji know that I don't…?_

"You know how easily Hinata faints! She's weak and helpless- she can't do anything for herself! Isn't that why you never let her leave the castle unless forty, well-trained guards are there? That's why you're so against her talking to the locals-"

"That's enough! Neji, you _**will**_ stay silent and Hinata _**will**_ go to the kingdoms starting next week," Father harshly cut Neji's outburst off. "She will be escorted there, with Gaara, who will be staying until Hinata takes her leave with him. Naruto Uzumaki and Shino Aburame will be her guards."

Neji fumed silently behind me. I trembled and walked forward slightly, trying not to curl inwards on myself. They had no confidence in me. Not that that was an unknown fact, but… I never knew the full extent of how much they deemed me helpless. To them, I was a fragile, innocent doll. Too precious to be broken and dirtied by the outside world. According to them, I needed to be protected every second of every day. I was weak and helpless- it was as if I was still a babe in my mother's arms. Nothing had changed at all through the years. I was still useless in their eyes.

Tears burned in my eye sockets at the lack of confidence they had in me- especially from Neji. He had always been the one to encourage me to do my best, that I could do anything I set my mind to as long as I was dedicated- except change my destiny. I realized the double meaning this held, and my heart nearly broke. He believed I was destined to be weak and helpless for the rest of my life, and that nothing I did would change any of that. _I need to get out of here._

Straightening up slightly, I pulled my hand out of Father's and clasped them in front of me. "Father, may I go to my room and… digest what has transpired today? Don't worry, I won't break while walking in the hallway," I said softly, my voice breaking at the end.

Father nodded and it stung to know that he didn't even want to tell me that he believed that I could walk in the hallway by myself. I had been expecting him to glare at me and to not speak to him in such a way… but he truly believed that I needed help doing such a menial task. I quickly walked down the steps, brushing past Gaara in my haste. I left my dress trailing across the floor instead of lifting it up as I normally did, so it trailed behind me like a wave. My hair swung side to side; and I was glad that I didn't put it up. As soon as I left the room, I was able to hide my face behind a curtain of hair, masking my horrid expression. The door closed behind me and I stumbled along the hallway in shock…

::-::-::

Another sob wracked my body as I remembered everything that had happened and what had been said. I was to forever be trapped in this castle, defenseless and helpless, all because Neji and Father believed I would never change. Curling in on myself, I wrapped my arms around my legs and fell asleep crying.

A knock at my door woke me up after a while. Drowsily I sat up, my hair in extreme disarray. Not bothering to fix it and wanting to prove I could do menial tasks, I stood up and stumbled over to the door, heaving it open. Neji stood in front of me, staring at me with a pained expression. I gazed at him, worried and concerned before I remembered his outburst earlier and pain shot through my heart. Narrowing my eyes in determination, I stood tall… and slammed the door in his face.

"I'm not… feeling very well. Please leave me alone," I said, trying to sound strong and confident.

Neji opened the door and frowned at me. "There was no need to shut the door. I've seen worse than your current state of dress," he told me, walking into my room.

I nearly cried in defeat. Nothing I ever did seemed to work out the way I wanted it to. _Didn't you hear me say that I'm not feeling well? _I cried out inside.

"If you really want someone to stay away next time, come up with a better reason. Anyway, the reason I'm here is to discuss with you the… suitor proposal Hiashi-sama has decided on. Don't go," Neji pleaded.

I stared at him, hope and warmth flowing through my veins. _He was just worried about me- he didn't mean a single thing he had said!_ I thought, reassurance finding its way into my mind. Although, that in and of itself was quite troubling; Neji never lied. Not just Neji- no Hyuuga I have ever came across has lied that I have heard of. We were quite the honest clan, us Hyuugas.

"You'll get killed! You know how helpless and weak you are, you need to stay here! Just choose Kiba now and get it over with- not that Kiba is the best choice, but out of those three at least he'd be willing to give you a little of the affection you require."

He had come here… to tell me that I was weak and couldn't handle visiting other kingdoms…? "But, Neji, I'm not as… as weak as you think I am! I can, at the very least, stay in a foreign kingdom with only two guards," I said with fake confidence.

"Hinata, one's destiny cannot be changed."

It's not that I didn't think I could- it's just that I didn't really desire to go to another kingdom with Gaara or Sasuke- they absolutely terrified me. It was quite obvious that they both wanted me dead and thought me weak. It… put me on edge just to think about spending an entire season with them. Gaara was first, too… I thought, thinking about seeing my death in his eyes. I shuddered lightly, but stood my ground.

"You don't know my destiny- no one does. In a sense… I decide it for myself. Are you saying that if I do anything that you _think _would lead to my death will, in fact, end up with me dead? That sounds a bit presumptuous, even for you, Neji," I replied. "I'm going to the kingdoms- that is my decision and Father's decision."

Neji looked like he was about to say something else when Tenten quickly came into the room- to my great relief. She looked between us and quickly got rid of the smile on her face. "Sorry to interrupt, Neji-sama, Hinata-sama, but Hinata-sama needs to change for dinner with Gaara-sama," she said, opening the door for Neji to leave.

Neji glanced back at me. "This will be discussed again later," he told me, his voice strict and allowing no room for argument.

He walked out swiftly and Tenten closed the door behind her. She sighed and turned to me, her brown eyes filled with concern and worry. I gave her a small smile for reassurance, but it only made the line in the middle of her forehead deepen.

"Will you be alright? It will only be you and Gaara at dinner- they've set everything up near the pond…" she trailed off as I walked towards my dresser.

"I'll be fine- we're on our own territory so I doubt Gaara would do anything. Besides, I'm sure there will be about twenty guards stationed around us. I'm really helpless after all," I said with a small smile.

I opened the drawer and pulled out my grey and lavender dress- my favorite. Slipping it on, I twirled in front of the large mirror hidden in the shadow of my dresser. It was a dress that reached down to my ankles, showing off my dainty, silver heels. There was a sash just below my breasts- thick and grey, tied in a bow in the back. The rest of the dress was a solid lavender-white, similar to my eyes but a little darker. At the neckline there was a lavender bow- darker than the rest of the dress. Along with the sash around my waist, there was a string of fake, light pink flowers coming off of the bow in the back. It was simple, complex and beautiful all at the same time.

"What do you think, Tenten? I picked it out yesterday," I said, smiling gently.

"It's very beautiful. Shall I escort you to the courtyard- after you fix your hair, of course," she added giggling as I daintily lifted a large tangle into the air.

I sighed and moved to my desk, once again brushing out all of the tangles in my hair. I heard Tenten rustling around next to me in the drawers as she pulled out a long piece of cloth. She laid it down in front of me and I smiled slightly. It was my most treasured ribbon- grey and lavender. Father had given it to me a few years ago- it was something my mother used to wear often when she was alive. It was the only thing Father had given me that made me feel… accepted- not only by him, but by Mother, as well. Grabbing it, I tied my hair back in a low ponytail, making yet another bow.

"Off to the courtyard?"

"Yes- but you don't have to escort me this time, Tenten. I'll get there myself," I said, gentle yet firm.

"Very well," she said, holding the door open for me. "Have a nice night, and I expect to hear all about it in the morning."

"Of course, Tenten," I giggled, waving goodbye as I made my way through the halls and out to the courtyard.

_It's time to show Gaara that I'm not… to afraid of him, and that I'm not extremely weak. I know who I am- I am Hinata Hyuuga, Heir to the Hyuuga Clan and future ruler of the Northern Kingdom. This is a lot of pressure… _

::-::-::

_Why did he do this? There will be no gain from this- I refuse to become allies through such a weak… human, _I thought, pacing back and forth in the guest room of the Hyuuga Castle.

The room was just like the halls- black and white. I snorted. But of course their castle would reflect what they truly are. As if there were only truth and lies in the world- there were half-truths, there were half-lies. Grey was necessary in our world. Growling under my breath for my half-hearted attempt at a distraction failed, I walked out onto the porch, gazing down at the ground below. My eyes landed on the source of all my frustrations and I nearly hissed.

She was walking out towards a forested area, moonlight hitting her at just the right angle to make it seem as though she were a black, grey and white statue that had come to life. Her hair billowed behind her, tied towards the end to keep it from getting out of control. Flowers seemed to appear out of thin air behind her wherever she walked- but I realized it was part of her dress. I snorted. A Hyuuga wearing grey? Nonsense- that would make it seem as though they believed that everything wasn't always black and white. That no one could change their destiny, that things could go unseen- unnoticed.

Yet… this Hyuuga was unlike any of the others. Too kind-hearted and gentle to survive in this world, yet when she was told the truth, things she already knew she… seemed to have had a rude awakening. This girl was ignorant, and I would not attempt to woo- the mere thought of it had me gnashing my teeth together in anger- such a hopeless and useless being. No, I would chase her out of my kingdom and have her running into the arms of that willful Inuzuka mutt. She was a plague in our world- I wouldn't allow this… this Hinata Hyuuga to infect any of my own kind.

I jumped out into the night, flying overhead to track my prey. Fangs glinting in the moonlight, I swooped down into the trees and followed her silently, wings flapping to keep myself airborne…

::-::-::

_A/N: What is this nonsense? A man flying? Fangs? :O What kind of monster have I created? I think it's pretty obvious though… Ah, the suspense for the next chapter! Since I love this story so much, it may come out tomorrow with the next chapter of Believing, it might come out Saturday. Just know that it will be soon, my pretties… SOON… *jumps out of your screen and flies around you* MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! xD  
-Ame _


	3. Change

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Especially since this isn't much of a ninja story so much as a… mythical creature story xD _

_Please read and review! :D_

Once Upon a Wild Dream

Chapter 3

Change

::-::-::-::-::

I had made it out of the forest much faster than I usually did. That was probably because… well, I was more focused than I usually was. When I walked through the forest in the past, my thoughts had always been drifting around, wandering inside my mind. I couldn't make sense of anything, and before I could even realize what had happened, I was lost. Not that it scared me or anything- getting lost in the forest, for me, was actually something that I enjoyed. Sure, it took me a while to find the guards that had somehow lost sight of me and I could have been injured, but… there was something about being in the forest alone that calmed me. The smell of the earth, damp from the previous night's rainfall… the sounds of the forest as small creatures began their daily routines- I loved it all. It made me feel as though I was part of something- something bigger than me, bigger than the castle, bigger than the kingdom, even. I was a part of _life_, and I was needed to make it function the way it did.

I quickly made my way down the stone path leading to the meadow where the pond- easily the size of a very large bathing area that was around half of a mile long and a third of a mile wide- to where Gaara was waiting. The moonlight was extremely bright tonight, I noticed, looking around myself. I could see nearly everything, even though it was nearing midnight. Everything was a pale blue white; from the trees, to the stone underneath my feet. The shadows seemed darker and more… eerie than usual, but other than that… it was as if everything was glowing and alive… awake, though it was so late. Shaking these irrelevant thoughts from my head I pressed onward, speeding up my pace.

Finally, the large Sakura tree in the middle of the pond alerted me to how close I was. A stone path lead the way through the water as it lapped along its edges. Koi fish swam around me and water lilies were opened, embracing the light of the full moon above me. It was a beautiful night, full of magic and wonder… I peaceful smile made its way upon my face. I loved such wonderful nights as this.

I saw Gaara sitting in the Sakura tree when I was a few meters away. He was on the second branch up on the left side, easily ten meters off of the ground. He was staring into the dark waters of the pond, resting his head upon his knee. His left leg swayed above the first branch, nearly touching it. His red hair moved gently in the small breeze that flowed through the tree. His hair seemed… dark in the moonlight- almost black, but still holding a red hue. His skin was deathly pale and seemed to glimmer…

I stood below him, next to the table and chairs- along with the food- that had been set out. I barely paid any attention to the details of them, only noticing that everything was white and black and that there was lobster. My focus was completely enveloped by Gaara, though I was fearful of another vision of my death in his eyes. Wary, I made my way closer to him, debating whether or not to climb up next to him and risk being so frightened by a sudden change in his personality (again) that I would fall backwards into the pond and possibly to my death… or to stay on the ground and call out to him.

I realized that my voice would be too soft for him to hear me, and I blushed in shame. I gave myself a slight slap to the face to motivate myself and looked determinedly at the first branch. Biting my lip, I quickly grabbed ahold of the tree, pulling myself up slightly. My feet dangling, I rapidly dug my heels into the tree, getting a foothold. I did the same thing relatedly until I was sure I would be able to get onto the first branch. Maneuvering myself over to said branch, I set myself onto it slowly. After making sure I was stable and it wouldn't suddenly brake under my weight (I did believe myself to be heavier than Gaara, who, though taller than me was definitely at least two sizes smaller than I was, not to mention the… chest, which did add a few extra pounds) I walked slowly over to the left side of Gaara.

Then I became stuck. Reaching upwards I could put my hands around the branch and pull myself up slightly, but not enough to get myself up all the way. I measured the distance and realized, to my dismay, that even jumping, I wouldn't be able to pull myself up far enough- and even if I did, I would likely be so surprised I wouldn't get a grip and land back on the branch… and make it snap, falling to the ground. Nervously, I debated what to do- once again, go up the side of the tree- which, I doubted I could do, noticing that the handholds were few and far between- or to ask Gaara to help me up. I was sure that I was close enough to do so, but… I didn't know if he would help me or not.

_Come on, Hinata. You decided to do this and show that you were strong. You got halfway there- asking Gaara for help when you were so terrified of him earlier would probably impress him at such a quick change in attitude. Either way, you have to do this, _I scolded myself. Biting my lip nervously, I dared a glance upward, took a deep breath, and spoke up.

"U-um… Prince Gaara…?" I paused to see if he had heard me.

He made no movement whatsoever, and his eyes were still staring into the water. I waited a few more moments, just in case he was a person who had very, very delayed reactions but… silence was the only thing that answered me. Gulping, I spoke up louder.

"Prince Gaara?"

Still no response. _Why do I have to be so soft spoken…? I can do this- just take in more air and let it out!_

"Prince Gaara!"

His head turned slowly to the right. Seeing no one there, he looked down… at me. His eyes were still emotionless, so I doubted that there would be another attack. Still, I was wary, and made no move towards him- instead, I spoke again.

"U-um, Prince Gaara…" I fidgeted slightly under his gaze. "W-would you… um…"

It was frightening how nervous just an empty stare could make me feel. _He's not going to bite your head off if you ask him a simple question, just say it or he'll be offended at such a waste of time!_

"Would you please help me up? I… I can't reach that high…" I finally got out, my face redder than it usually was.

I stared into his eyes nervously, waiting for an answer. We stared at each other in silence for what seemed like decades before he shifted slightly and held out his hand to me. I blinked, shocked, believing that he would have just turned back to the water. I hesitantly took his hand and put the other on the tree. His hand was a bit cold, but much warmer than his gaze. It was firm, too, and caused a blush to blossom upon my face again. He pulled me up quite easily- a lot easier than I had expected, considering that he didn't seem to be someone who had a lot of strength. I stood on the branch for a few moments before situating myself so I was sitting beside him, a foot of space between us.

The view from the branch overlooking the pond was magnificent. The water reflected the full moon, split in half right in the middle of the pond by the stones. The koi fish were swimming in synchronization, darting left and right as if they were dancing. The water lilies framed the outline of the moon and then spread out like stars. It was as if… the koi fish were the clouds moving about, the lilies were the stars and the moon was already there. The sky was in the water. I gazed upon the sight in awe for a long time before I broke the silence.

"It's really… magnificent," I breathed softly.

I felt Gaara's gaze settle on me and glanced towards him, a smile upon my face- though I had no idea where it had come from. His eyes weren't as empty as they were before- they were warmer, just as amazed by the sight as I was. Although the emotion there was an extremely watered down version in most peoples' eyes, for Gaara, someone who was usually emotionless… it held the same strength.

"Yes, it is," he agreed, his voice melodic, beautiful- and so wondrously enchanting- was just as soft as mine.

We turned back to the sight for a long time, before I remembered the dinner set below us from the smell that had wafted up from below. I gasped and scolded myself for almost letting the delicious food that the cooks had made for us go cold. Turning to Gaara, I noticed that he had smelt the food, too, and was quickly on his decent to it. I blushed, realizing that I couldn't get down as easily as he could and looked towards the trunk of the tree for a foothold when I felt a hand rest upon my leg. Glancing down, my surprised gaze met a pale hand that was reaching for my own. I blushed- I seemed to be doing that a lot tonight- and took his hand. He helped me down to the first trunk, setting me down gently before going down to the ground and helping me again.

My feet touched the grass and my hand immediately went to my dress, lifting it to keep it from getting dirty. My eyes shyly glanced up into Gaara's, once again, emotionless orbs.

"Thank you," I murmured and he nodded before walking to the food.

He pulled out my chair- though it seemed that it was more out of habit than of his own will- and I sat down, my face aflame all the while. He moved swiftly and sat down in his seat and quickly began to eat, all the while periodically glancing at the water.

I glanced down at the food on my plate. The lobster was still steaming, which made me realize that the time we spent up there wasn't as much as I thought it had been, and there was a small salad with tomatoes and mushrooms. There were also a few slices of freshly baked bread slathered in butter. A glass of red wine sat to my right, but I didn't touch it. I wasn't much of an alcohol drinker- in fact; I'd never had alcohol before. Instead, I took a quick sip of water and quickly began to eat the decedent food on my plate. I loved the food that the cooks made- they always spoiled me, making my favorites and creating delicious dishes out of the foods that I didn't particularly like. Lobster was something that I liked- it was something that was light and went well with salads and my favorite freshly baked bread that they served with the meal today.

We ate in silence for a while before I began to become slightly nervous. I didn't know what to talk about. Though I wasn't much of a talker, I didn't exactly like being in a- what it was quickly beginning to feel like in this situation- uncomfortable silence. Casual banter was something that Neji and I usually had over dinner- light, like the food that I enjoyed. It kept the mood peaceful and put a smile on my face very easily. However… with Gaara, I had no idea where to start. I knew nothing of his likes or dislikes and I felt that it would be too forward of me to ask such things from someone who had only spoken three words to me since we had met earlier this day.

Then I remembered the way he had gazed upon the pond- and his glances towards it even now, and almost smacked myself in how easy it would be to start up a conversation in this setting.

"Prince Gaara," I started, immediately earning his empty gaze, "um… do you like the ocean? It seems that you kind of like the pond we have here, so I was just wondering…"

He nodded slowly, giving me a look that I couldn't and then returned to his meal. I nearly sighed. _He's much less of a talker than even Neji, _I thought sadly. I began to eat more slowly, knowing that I wouldn't get much of a conversation out of Gaara. A few minutes ticked by, the silence around me nearly suffocating.

"Do you know what I am?"

His voice sounded like a harp- soft, soothing and something that I could listen to forever. For a while, I sat, just repeating the sound of his voice in my head before I realized he had asked a question. Flushing, I looked at him, confused.

"What you are…? Um… You're a P-prince…" he continued to stare at me with a slight inquisitive air. "… a human…?"

I didn't understand what answer he wanted from me. _Does he want me to describe his personality? I don't know him that well so that probably wouldn't give him the answer he wants, _I fretted, thinking hard.

"… Human..." Gaara repeated slowly, as if testing the taste of the word on his tongue.

"Y-yes, human… what else could you be?" I asked, even more confused than I was before.

"A merman."

I looked at him, sure he was joking. There was no such thing as merfolk, so how could he be a merman? Surely he was just teasing me, in his own, emotionless way. I'd never seen one before. Father hadn't told me of their existence. _It must mean that they didn't exist… right?_ I thought, suddenly unsure. There had been things that I had discovered without my father telling me they existed. For example… kittens. He never mentioned them before, but I found one… and wasn't allowed to keep it, of course. It was adorable, though- black fur with the most vibrant, crystal blue eyes. _I wonder where she is now… _I mused, sidetracked.

"You're jesting, aren't you…? Father never told me about m-merfolk… They don't exist," I said slowly.

Gaara stared into my eyes, searching. When all his probing gaze met was confusion, his own gaze became confused. It was as if he didn't understand my answer, which didn't make any sense. How could he not understand my answer? It was the truth- merfolk didn't exist. They existed in folklore, along with fairies, vampires and werewolves. Beings of child's daydreams and creatures of the night that fueled their nightmares… didn't exist. If they did, they would be ruling the kingdoms, and since I wasn't a fairy, vampire, mermaid or a werewolf, they certainly didn't exist. With my reasoning, my indecision disappeared.

"… Of… course. I was jesting, as you said," Gaara finally said, returning to eating the food upon his plate.

"Hahah," I laughed nervously.

There was silence again, afterwards, but instead of it being an uncomfortable silence it was a deep, confused silence that neither of us were willing to break again.

Soon, we finished eating and the moon had disappeared behind the clouds. It was extremely late, and I was beginning to feel very tired, though I had taken a nap earlier. All the events that had happened today were so much to take in that it completely exhausted me. I nearly began to sway just sitting at the table. I frowned, worried. _I don't think I'll be able to make it to my room without falling asleep on the way there… _

I glanced at Gaara, wondering if I should ask him if he wanted to head back to the castle together, since he hadn't been too averse to interacting with me earlier. He was staring at me, his eyes showing that he was lost in thought… but his eyes weren't empty anymore. No, they held a curious fascination as they gazed upon me and I shifted slightly, unused to the attention. Biting my lip, I decided that since I had been pushing my luck this entire time, I might as well do it just once more for the night.

"Prince Gaara, since it is getting late… do you want to… um… walk back to the castle together?" I asked, trying to keep myself from blinking slowly.

He stood up abruptly, walking over to my side and helping me out of my own seat. Pushing in the chair behind me, he took my hand in his own and we began to head back to the castle. My face burned at his sudden, forward action. He wasn't one who liked to be close to people- he hardly talked to me at all, seemed extremely empty and was quite terrifying at times… so why was he holding my hand…?

"U-um… Prince Gaara…?" I questioned, tugging slightly against his firm hold.

He glanced down at me, his eyes trapping me yet again. I still didn't understand how his eyes could enchant me so much, but… they did. Over and over, his pastel green eyes seemed to suck my soul right into them and caress it gently, comforting me. Not that his eyes were his only attractive feature- I quite liked his flaming, red, soft-looking hair and his smooth, pale skin and his subtle muscularity. His voice was also something that appealed to me very much.

"Yes, Princess Hinata?" he questioned me.

Ah, yes. That was the voice- that wonderfully soft, beautiful voice that beckoned to me like a siren. My name seemed that much more wonderful when spoken in such a lovely tone… My body felt like it turned completely red when I realized where my thoughts were.

"U-um… Well… Y-you see… Uh…" I stuttered quietly, my eyes wild with embarrassment.

He leaned closer to me, lifting my chin so my eyes met his. Being so close to me after where my thoughts had travelled made me weak to my knees and I nearly fainted right there. I gulped, taking a deep breath… and the sweetest scent assaulted my senses. It was… honey? No, it wasn't that rich, it was closer to lavender, but not as powerful. Similar to the scent of fresh oranges, yet not as citrusy… What was it? I subconsciously leaned forward as I tried to figure out the scent coming off of Gaara and suddenly his hand tightened around mine.

Looking up quickly, his eyes burned with fire yet again. In his eyes, I was screaming, blood flying everywhere as a monster came up from below me with a wicked grin, ripping chunks out of my skin and throwing them over its shoulder… I blanched and quickly pulled my hand out of his, stumbling backwards in my haste and nearly falling into the pond. That quickly snapped him out of whatever trance he was in and the fire died out.

We stared at each other. I trembled slightly, before I realized that, once again, I was being weak. It was a silly hallucination that my mind had come up with- why was I so terrified? Guards were surrounding us at this very moment; they would stop him from attacking me. But why would he attack me now? He hadn't done so earlier, what was so different about this time? Sure, I had been closer to him than I was back then, but as long as I kept my distance I wouldn't see the same fire in his eyes again. Letting out a shaky sigh I straightened up and gave him a smile.

"I'm sorry; I don't know what got into me. Shall we continue on?" I asked gently, pushing down my fear.

He nodded slowly and we began to walk again, half a foot of space in between us. Not another word was spoken between us the entire way through the forest, though we glanced at each other quite often. I could feel his gaze on me most of the walk there, and it made me slightly anxious. _Why was he looking at me? Why did he hold my hand? And… why do I keep seeing my death in his eyes? _All these questions kept repeating over and over in my head, but I had no answers. I was fully drained by the time we had finished walking through the forest and attempted to call out to Gaara as he walked ahead of me, but I stumbled and fell before I could say anything. I quickly lost consciousness and the last thing I saw was Gaara turning back to look at me.

::-::-::-::

I looked back to see Hinata fall to the ground right outside the forest. For a while I stared at her, shocked and uncertain. I knew I wasn't in full control of my… urges quite yet, so it would be dangerous to get too close to her. Then again, if I didn't go help her now and went to the castle to go get help, there could be a chance that she would get injured, kidnapped or killed… and that would disturb me for a while, and I didn't want the problems that could stir up. I sighed deeply before cautiously making my way towards her, bending down to the ground and checking for a pulse. It was normal and she was breathing… _She passed out from exhaustion_, I reasoned.

Now, to somehow get her to the castle without having her too close to me like she had been before. I looked her over, trying to think quickly. If I carried her on my back- the easiest way- then her face would be too close to mine and I would lose it since she wouldn't be able to get away from me again. Not that I was too against eating her- she did look quite delicious. Her dark, indigo hair was black in the moonlight and covered her like a curtain. Her pale, off-white lavender eyes were closed, but I could still remember how tantalizing they looked. Her skin was creamy white and soft- I knew it would be tender if I bit into her… I quickly stamped out the rising hunger in me and looked at her silently for a while. She didn't deserve to be eaten- no, she was too pure. Too innocent and protected. She didn't know anything… yet. It wouldn't feel right to eat a creature like her.

I still couldn't understand why it wouldn't feel right- I had no problems going through with eating people before. Food was food- although I had already eaten- I was always hungry, as were all young merfolk. Yearning for blood and carnage… Enchanting prey with our voices and entrapping their gazes with our eyes, inducing first awe and yearning then making them immobile with fear. Even if they did run away, they were usually in our element and I could catch them quickly, building up even more hunger at the knowledge that their muscles would be thick and have little fat to tear through…

Once again, I had to calm myself. It was unusual for me to hunger so much for someone before. There was something about her… something about this princess that made her much more enticing than anyone else. I frowned, but pushed it to the back of my mind. That could wait- I needed to get her into the castle before I lost it being alone with her. Thinking for a few more moments, I nearly rolled my eyes at how easy it would be to get her into the castle. I leaned down and picked her up bridal style- carrying her like the princess she was. Her head quickly found its way to my chest and she barely stirred in her sleep. Her body was far enough from my nose that, though her delicious water-lily fragrance did reach me, it wasn't overpowering like before. I still couldn't understand why she had gotten so close to me in the first place. _Didn't she see the fire in my eyes the first time we had met? Why would she risk getting so close? _I shook the thoughts from my head and walked quickly to the castle to put her in her room.

::-::-::-::

I woke up, as always, to the sound of birds chirping outside my window. I sat up slowly, stretching and yawning. I rubbed my eyes before stumbling over to the window and opening it, the same blue jay from yesterday quickly flying onto my shoulder. It hopped around, tweeting happily. Smiling, I poured some more bird food into the bowl on the sill and it pecked my cheek lightly before going to eat its breakfast.

"Good morning to you too," I giggled.

I sighed, my body feeling much heavier than it usually did. Glancing down I cried out. My dress was still on from the night before! What had happened? I thought hard, trying to remember. _Dinner with Gaara… We watched the pond, at the food, talked for a few minutes, began walking back together…_ I flushed, remembering that he had held my hand. _Then saw my death again. We walked through the forest and… I fainted!_ I blanched when I realized what happened and quickly ran to my dresser, grabbing a dark green dress and changing as fast as I could. I needed to go apologize to Gaara for such an unsightly display… I hurriedly brushed my hair and ran out the door- bumping right into Gaara, who had his hand raised as if he were going to knock on the door.

"Oh!" I gasped, quickly moving backwards and bowing. "I am so sorry! I didn't mean to run into you like that- are you alright? Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"It is fine," he quickly interjected into my panicked apology.

"A-are you sure?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes," he reassured me.

"Oh… okay then. Um, I also wanted to apologize for yesterday-" I started to apologize yet again but he cut me off.

"Princess Hinata, I didn't mind too much. You were tired," his voice calmed me, as did his words-though not by much with that "too much" he had added.

"Oh…"

We stood in an awkward silence-his emotionless gaze clashing with my nervous and shy glances. Eventually the curiosity of why he was here got the best of me.

"So, is there something you required of me…?"

"… Breakfast is finished…" he told me, not saying any more before he turned and headed down the hall.

I shut the door behind me and quickly walked after him. _Did he mean that… he came here to walk with me to breakfast? Surely that was just a misunderstanding on my part…_ I thought, brushing the idea off… until he stopped and glanced back at me, clearly waiting for me to catch up. I hurried forward and we walked side by side down to the dining room.

The dining room was grand and was different from the throne room in only one way- the floor was completely white, as was the ceiling, while the walls were covered in black and white depictions of fairies and the forest. It was one of my favorite rooms in the entire castle- the paintings of the fairies seemed so real… and similar to that of our Hyuuga ancestors. The fairies were of medium height- and all had pale eyes and dark hair. Some were grinning wicked grins, while others were completely stoic. The stoic ones reminded me of Father- just as cold and empty as he was sitting next to me at the long, rectangular table.

It was set up similar to the throne room- Neji sat on my right, Father sat on my left in the chair that was only slightly smaller than the one he had in the throne room, Meien sat next to him and my little sister, Hanabi, sat next to her. She looked like a miniature, female Neji except with dark hair. Her face was just as emotionless, though it was slightly more calculating like Father's. Her eyes were the same shade of lavender and her hair fell to the middle of her back. She, like Neji, had it parted in the middle, though she didn't wear the headband that Neji was so fond of on her forehead like him.

Gaara sat across from me, silently eating the eggs and ham that had been served for breakfast. There were also fresh rolls of bread, but it seemed that he wasn't much of a bread eater since he never even glanced towards them. Instead… he watched me, his eyes emotionless. It was as if it was a mask to hide what he was truly thinking and how he truly felt…

I quickly glanced down at my plate and began to eat, savoring the delicious taste of the honey ham that the cooks had made. It was another favorite of mine. We ate in silence for quite a while before Meien, the most vocal in our family, decided that she had had enough of our silent ways.

"Now, Prince Gaara, what is it like in the Western Kingdom?" she asked, eager for gossip. "What kind of things trend over in that area?"

"… I wouldn't know. I don't pay attention to unimportant things such as that. It would be better for you to ask my sister when she arrives to come and escort Princess Hinata and I to my home," he said emptily, quickly returning back to staring at me and eating.

"I-I see…" she said nervously, a strained smile on her face as she tried to think of a way to get some information out of him. "Well, you seem to have taken a liking to our Hinata- what do you think of her?"

"I haven't particularly taken a liking to her. I'm just very…" he trailed off, searching for the right word. "Curious. She is extremely pure and innocent. She doesn't know very much… why?"

"That is… to say… that we- um… I-…" she glanced at Father, who's eyes had narrowed slightly at Gaara. "… Ahahah, I don't get what you're saying. Ah, do you want any bread? It's quite good and warm. Hahahah… Hah."

I glanced between the three, confused. _What are they talking about…? What don't I know…? _

Gaara shook his head and continued eating, still staring at me. Everything was silent from that point on, and I couldn't shake the feeling that it was something that had to do with me. There was something that was being hidden from me that they didn't want me to know… I quelled the urge to speak up about it, knowing that it would only cause problems. Instead, I ate silently, pushing the questions and confusion to the back of my mind…

::-::-::-::-::

After breakfast, I began to make my way towards the forest to sort out some of my confusion when Father called out to me. I turned to him and he beckoned me closer to him. Standing in front of him, he stared at me for a few moments and then began to speak.

"Come with me to my study. There are some issues that we need to discuss, and there are people that I desire you to meet," he said, turning to walk begin walking out of the dining room.

"Y-yes Father," I said, scurrying to follow him.

_This hasn't happened many times before… Am I in trouble…? Is he sending me away…?_ I became nervous and wary of going to the room with him. We walked down the hall and entered the second door on the left from the dining room- I could see my room, five doors down on the right from here. It looked so small, reminding me just how huge this castle was… Father opened the door and I trailed in after him. He moved, sitting at his gold and blue chair behind his large mahogany desk and I moved forward to stand in front of him.

"Hinata, I need to tell you the history of the Hyuuga Clan, but first I shall tell you something that I probably should have told you when you were young," he started and I gulped, waiting for him to tell me that I was adopted into his family and that he didn't want me anymore.

He stared deeply into my eyes and spoke very, very slowly.

"Hinata, you are a fairy. The entire Hyuuga Clan are fairies, and that is why you have never been able to tell a lie in your entire life, nor have you ever touched- or can touch- iron."

My world shattered into a million pieces when everything clicked into place at his announcement. I wasn't human.

::-::-::-::-::

_A/N: And the big reveal! Not really, it was hinted at a lot in this chapter xD I'm sure you all know now what Gaara and Kiba are- Gaara did mention it himself in his thoughts there. Fairies, vampires, merfolk and werewolves. Aren't you excited to see what they're really like? I am! Sorry, guys but… in this story… the vampires… don't glitter like diamonds in the sun. I know, I know, it's a big disappointment, but… well… I don't really think sparkling vampires are all that… terrifying. That is why Twilight is PG-13, folks. This, if it were to be a movie, would be rated R. And it would be scary. But that's for later… Right now, it's time to make Hinata into a force to be reckoned with! And sorry for not updating in so long- I couldn't figure out what to write for a while and then I got sick and started hallucinating… and forgot everything I was going to write until two days ago when I started working on it again xD Anywho, please review!_

_-Ame_


	4. Departure

Once Upon a Wild Dream

Chapter 4

Departure

::-::-::-::-::

"_You are a fairy."_

"_A fairy."_

"_Fairy."_

_F…airy…?_

"What…? H-how? I'm a… …?" my mouth parted slightly in shock and confusion.

Father frowned slightly at my reaction before smoothing his features back into the cold, calm mask he always wore. He stood up from his seat and walked towards me, stopping a few feet away. A second later, long, crystal-patterned wings sprouted from his back and fluttered slightly. The fluttering motion caused white, snow-like, glittering particles to appear. They fell to the floor and disappeared upon toughing it. The wings were easily twice the size of Father, and looked extremely fragile. They looked like… ice. Very, very thin ice. Light blue in color, they struck awe in me. I started to memorize their shape, but right when I almost had them so imprinted in my mind that I could paint them- they vanished.

"How did you do that?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"I simply made them solid and visible. You have them behind you right now, Hinata- you are simply, instinctively, keeping them hidden." A knock on the door behind me made me jump, causing Father to frown at me in disdain.

"You may enter," Father called, walking back to sit at his desk.

The door opened behind me and three people entered. A blonde, shaggy haired, blue eyed knight dressed in black and indigo stood next to Neji, who was looking at me worriedly. On Neji's left- my right- stood another knight, with black hair and darkly lensed glasses hiding his eyes. He too wore black and indigo- as did all knights of the Hyuuga Kingdom. They walked forward and stood around me- Neji to my left, the blond knight to my right and the black haired knight behind me- as we faced Father. He folded his hands onto his desk and eyed us. A few, tense moments of silence issued forth as we tried not to flinch under his heavy gaze. Satisfied after a while at what he saw, he began to speak.

"Hinata, Neji will train you in how to pull out your wings. It is something that should have occurred naturally when you turned fifteen, but… It might have been delayed because of your sheltered upbringing," he told me.

An apologetic look flashed through his eyes as he said this, warming my heart a bit. Father wasn't as cold as he put on- it was just so that the image of the Hyuuga Clan wouldn't be tarnished. Poised, graceful and cold once again after that brief lapse in his outward appearance, he continued on like it never happened. Inwardly, I smiled. _It might be a little conceited of me, but… I'll take that as him acknowledging that I am of some importance to him, _I thought.

"These are your guards, Naruto Uzumaki and Shino Aburame. They will be with you on your journey to the neighboring kingdoms within Konoha. Learn their personalities well, for it will help you in the future…" he trailed off as the blonde quickly spoke up.

"I'll protect you, Princess Hinata, believe it!" his shout rang out through the room, causing Neji and Father to flinch slightly.

"Naruto… How many times have I told you not to shout inside the castle?!" Father ground angrily.

"Ah, my bad. Sorry, Lord Hiashi," Naruto said sheepishly.

Father sighed and motioned for us all to leave the room. I bowed slightly and slowly left the room, trying to accept all that had happened. It had all occurred so… quickly! I… my clan- the Hyuugas- were all fairies. Father had wings, and, apparently, everyone got their wings when they turned fifteen- except for me. Neji was going to give me lessons on how to get my wings to materialize. I had to learn Naruto and Shino's personalities because, somehow, that could help me in the future…

How would that help me? Maybe it could let me get a good idea of what there swordsmanship was like, but… I didn't know anything about swordsmanship, so I couldn't give them any input on how to become better and improve their weak points. It didn't make any sense…

A hand lightly touched my shoulder and I turned, eyes wide. Neji stared down at me, his eyes, like the last time I had spoken to him, were conflicted. I let out a shaky sigh, nervous about interacting with him again after what had transpired. Did he dislike me now because of my willfulness? It was something that was typically unaccepted in the Hyuuga Clan, and I had done it so much to him in the past two days…

"Did Lord Hiashi tell you everything?" he asked me, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"That we're fairies and that we have wings that appear when we turn fifteen?" I asked him as he nodded. "Then, yes, Father has told me everything. I have a question, though…"

"What is it?"

"Are the other kingdoms… fairies too?"

"… I don't think so," he said slowly.

"Then, what are they?"

"You will find out soon enough."

"… But, Neji, if I don't find out before I go, how will I know how to behave accordingly? I might say something offensive-"

"It's alright, the other kingdoms know that you are very ignorant of their world," Neji interrupted me, beckoning for me to follow him down the hall. "Onto more important things, we must start training immediately."

I nodded slowly and quickly fell silent. Asking questions would get me nowhere now. No, I had to figure everything out myself. If I couldn't do that much, then it was pretty clear that I wouldn't be a very good heir to the throne for Father. I had already disappointed him enough- there was no need to do it anymore. The least I could do is figure out the species of the other three countries.

I continued to ponder the possibilities as I followed Neji towards what seemed to be the forest. I decided to start with Gaara, since I knew him the most right now and, considering all of the things he had said and his reactions to my replies, it should be the easiest.

_Let's see… he's definitely not human- no humans had eyes that showed death like that naturally. From what Neji had said, it was clear that he wasn't a fairy either, although his behavior was quite similar. The thing that he had said afterward…_ I nearly slapped myself across the forehead when what he had said came to mind.

"_A mermaid."_

A mermaid- he had not been lying then. Tying his statement with his behavior, it made a lot of sense. His appearance was absolutely eye-catching. Perfect for luring their prey into the waters where he hunted. If his appearance wasn't enough, adding his voice into the temptation surely broke through anyone's defenses. As soon as they got into the water, he would strike. Pinning them down with terror from the death they see in his eyes, he quickly kills them and eats them, leaving nothing behind. At least, that's what all the stories of mermaids I had heard had said. I wouldn't put it past him to eat everything of the person- I mean, leaving loose ends behind led to him being discovered. Eating everything left neither evidence nor any witnesses…

"Alright, we're here," Neji, once again, interrupted my thought process.

We stood at the entrance to the forest. The trees swayed gently in the breeze, the emerald leaves rustling against one another. I took in a deep, calming breath of air and sighed contently. As usual, the calming effects of the forest quickly worked their magic through my nervous, confused and slightly shocked body. My tense shoulders quickly loosened and my body lost the weight of the heavy truth that had been placed upon me about an hour ago.

"Now, then, I shall first show you my wings. Observe carefully-"

"I can't wait to see them, Neji. Since Father's was like ice, I think yours would probably look like the wind- a gentle white with calming, green swirls. I think it'd look nice on you, Neji," I said cheerfully, smiling up at him- all my earlier tension and anxiousness about being around him had instantly evaporated as soon as we had arrived at the forest.

"… How did you…? Not even Lord Hiashi could see that kind of thing in the future… " Neji breathed, his eyes wide with shock.

"Eh? Future? What do you mean, Neji?"

"Ah… … you might have misheard me."

"No, I'm quite sure you said 'Not even Lord Hiashi could see that kind of thing in the future'. What did you mean by that, Neji? Can fairies see the future?"

"… Yes," he sighed in defeat.

"I didn't know that… What else can fairies do?" I asked, quickly sitting down on the grass.

Neji stared at me for a few moments before sighing again. He joined me on the ground, staring at the grass and then moving his gaze to the trees. I waited silently for him to begin telling me what exactly fairies could do. _Since I am a fairy, it is only natural to know a little background information on my species_, I thought, excited.

"Well… Fairies can… communicate with the forest," he began to tell me. "It's… a long explanation, but we have time-right, Princess Hinata?"

I nodded, giving Neji my complete attention. So many things ran through my head at just that statement alone. How could we communicate with the forest? Was it something that took a lot of training or did it come naturally? Was it just the trees or could we communicate with the animals as well?

"Fairies are creatures that can live a very long time- around five thousand years at least. Most of us tend to live around seven thousand years. Of course, there are ways that we could die, but we tend to live as long as the forest around us. The tale that has been passed down for many generations is that fairies were once originally part of the forest. We were a special kind of plant- a very, very poisonous plant. But we tricked creatures into eating us by being so beautiful and gentle-looking. What would be so dangerous about a plant that was so beautiful? It wasn't like we lied about being poisonous. The creatures just couldn't see past our exterior. When the forest began to clear out of creatures that had been dwelling there for hundreds of years before we came into existence because of fear and many species going extinct from eating us so much, the forest removed us from itself and we became the fairies that exist today.

Now, of course we were happy about being free from the forest for a while, but eventually we began to die off. We didn't know how to survive in our new bodies. So, as our species quickly dwindled down to a handful of fairies, the elder of the fairies- Hiroshi Hyuuga- went to the forest to plead for acceptance. The forest was hesitant at first, but quickly came up with a negotiation, of sorts. We were not allowed to tell lies- not that we had in the first place, but just in case we decided to trick others a different way. Also, we were told that we would have to be given a severe weakness. Something that would make it so that if we ever started created another catastrophe like before, the forest could quickly get everything under control and get us to behave again. So, they came up with something that was natural and part of the forest- something that wasn't originally used to cause harm. They decided that it would be iron.

Fairies had never been around iron before- it was something that, when we were part of the forest, we couldn't grow around. Hiroshi accepted the terms and we were able to live in the forest again. Of course, we didn't turn back into the flowers we had been before. You can't undo something after everything's been said and done. Instead, the forest gifted us with the power to communicate with everything inside the forest, as well as the forest itself. We took care of the forest. In turn, the forest warned us of approaching enemies or dangers. It is still that way even today.

The problem was that, although we could fly… we had no way of defending ourselves. Our enemies would come in with bows and arrows and metal swords- so, of course, we decided to make some of our own. A group of fairies went into the forest to go look for iron. We had found out that that was the metal that their swords and the tips of their arrows were made of. When the group of fairies found the iron, they went to go get it… and when they touched it their hands began to burn as if they were on fire. When they looked at their hands, their skin had been peeling off and it was bubbling and sizzling. They realized that the forest had made iron something that we could never touch with our bare hands. Being near it for a while made the scent of it begin to make our bodies weak and sickly.

We couldn't just give up, of course. If we did, our entire clan would become extinct. We became allies with the Inuzuka Clan, because we could communicate to them and they were one with the forest in their own way, like us."

I opened my mouth to interrupt, wanting to know how they were connected to the forest as well, but Neji quickly pressed on.

"The Inuzuka Clan provided us with weapons. Since we couldn't create weapons, we created fine suits of leather armor- so tough that it rivaled armor with iron in how well they kept swords and weapons from killing us. We continue to trade these back and forth today."

"How can we see visions of the future?" I asked.

"I'm not exactly sure but… I believe it has something to do with us being so in tune with the forest. We can sense malicious thoughts and, to provide us with some protection from danger, we can see the future and how it is caused by the malicious intent that is directed towards us. It doesn't always show us exactly what we want to see, but it does show us things that relate to our future- whether it be things that will happen to the people close to us, things we are going to see soon or things that will happen to us. Lord Hiashi is the strongest in the Hyuuga Clan in that aspect," Neji explained.

"O-oh. No wonder he seems to become colder after I do something that he might not approve of when I know that there aren't any witnesses…"

Neji gave me a small smile and ruffled my hair affectionately. "He's caught all of us, Princess Hinata. He just couldn't punish you since he wanted to keep you from finding out about who you really are."

"I see… I guess being ignorant wasn't such a bad thing," I giggled.

"It definitely wasn't. Now, shall we begin training?" Neji said, standing up.

"Yes, Neji," I replied, standing up as well.

Neji waited until he was sure I was watching and then he closed his eyes, taking in a deep, calming breath. As he let it out slowly, his wings began to form just as slowly. It started at the middle and then split- forming both the top and the bottom of the wings at the same, slow pace. It was breathtaking to see it happen in slow motion like this. The creamy white color of his wings slowly appearing out of thin air… soft, green strokes painted onto the white as if it were a canvas, swirling at the ends… After a few more moments, his wings were completely visible and moving slightly, casting green flecks to the ground.

His wings were just as I imagined them to be. They, like Father's, were twice the size of Neji. The white of his wings were the same as that of the clouds in the sky above us. Strokes of green- the same green as the grass we were standing on- were inlaid in his wings. They looked like gusts of wind blowing into the clouds, making them move… Suddenly I had an urge to paint the wings, as I had had with Father. I needed to paint the beauty before me, to show that it truly existed and that I wasn't just imagining things…

"Princess Hinata, did you see how the wings materialized?" Neji asked me.

"Yes. They started out in the middle and split two ways, finishing both from the bottom and the top," I answered, still starting in awe at his wings.

"The way to get your wings to show is to completely calm yourself and imagine your wings. It takes quite a while for most people, since they can't see their wings nor imagine what they would look like. You have to take in your personality and imagine the best way to express it through you wings. It requires color, shape and how you imagine they would feel. Do you remember that Lord Hiashi's wings were much more jagged at the edges than mine?"

I nodded. Neji's wings were rounded at the edges. Where the green swirls met the ends, the wings took on the shape of the swirl, making it seem as though his wings were curvy and lumpy, although staring at the design quickly got rid of any thoughts like that. His wings were simply too beautiful to be described as lumpy. Father's wings, as I recalled, were jagged every once in a while along the edges- like jagged, freshly crushed ice. They were completely different from Neji's gentle, calming wings.

"Try to imagine your wings sprouting out of your back like mine," he continued.

"Alright…" I said nervously.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep, slow breath. What was I like? I was… innocent. Ignorant. Like a child… yet I was very understanding. My tone of voice was very gentle and unthreatening, as was my personality. Something people could overlook but chose not to because… it was refreshing. My wings would most definitely be soft. I was a soft-hearted girl, after all. My wings… would be lavender in color. Light lavender- the same shade as my eyes. They would be covered in patterns of lilies- white and a very light blue. The edges would be pointed at the ends and curved as it headed towards my shoulder blades. They would look like a stretched, pointed butterfly's wings… Small, lavender colored flower petals would be the substance that fell down as my wings fluttered silently…

"Princess Hinata… your wings- I've never seen anything like them… An angel…" I heard Neji breathe and I slowly opened my eyes.

"An… angel…? Me?"

Neji nodded slowly, his eyes awed as he gazed upon me. This quickly brought a blush to my face and all of a sudden I felt as if my feet had left the ground. Looking down, I saw the ends of my feet barely grazing the top of the grass. I gasped and quickly fell back to the ground, stumbling even though I had hardly floated up more than four inches.

"I floated, Neji!" I exclaimed.

A smile quickly lit up my face and I giggled in excitement. I had my wings. I had floated. I spun around happily before coming to a sudden halt. I wanted to see what my wings looked like. If they were exactly as I imagined…

"Neji, can we go to the pond? I want to see my wings…"

"… Of course," he murmured, walking towards the pond.

_Yay!_

::-::-::-::-::

I watched her from the shadows again. Just like last night when she went to meet with that merman… Gaara. Not that it mattered. Gaara could do whatever he wanted with the girl, just as long as she didn't come to my kingdom. I glared heatedly at her winged form. Not that her father would allow her to just skip right over me. Such a weak, ignorant, useless creature would surely poison my kingdom. The people would go soft, gain emotions other than anger, frustration, rage and lust. No, that would not be tolerated.

And yet… I didn't want to do it. Not really. Not only would it be a waste of time and not amusing in the slightest, but… What was the point? Her father would immediately declare war, we'd end up signing a peace treaty after many years of harsh bloodshed and I would become bored yet again. No, killing her wouldn't help solve anything.

I growled in frustration and smashed my fist into a tree, bits of bark breaking off and falling to the ground. There had to be a way around this. Hurting her wouldn't give me the satisfaction I sought. It would only temporarily sate my hunger for blood. To see a weak, helpless creature such as that Hinata girl writhing in pain… shouting for help as tears fell down her face, her angelic wings bathed in red and in tatters… her neck ripped open as delicious crimson liquid made its way into my mouth and down my throat… That would be satisfying. I grinned. Maybe keeping her as a pet wouldn't be too bad. No, it would keep me quite entertained the entire season she was with me. Then, when it was over, I would let her go to the Inuzuka's kingdom… and take her back as soon as the season was over. Holding her hostage upon threat of death… it would provide me with a lot more entertainment than I had received in a long time. Theoretically, anyway.

No, she wouldn't die- there would be no point to it. Besides, in the end, it would all be the same. She wasn't going to leave my kingdom after soiling it with her presence. A wicked grin appeared upon my face. Not whole, at least.

Decision made, I jumped off the tree and took flight, heading towards my castle. Thankfully the fairies had such a dense forest. Flying out in the sun would be pure torture.

::-::-::-::-::

The next five days went by very quickly. Since I had easily mastered how to summon my wings, Neji had been teaching me how to fly. It was much harder than getting my wings- there were so many things that I had to keep track of. How high I was flying- if I flew too high, then the air resistance would become too harsh and I would end up spiraling towards the ground. Thankfully, Neji was there to catch me and lower me to the ground or else I would've been severely injured. If I flew too low, I risked going too fast and ended up nearly crashing into the trees in the forest. After the first two days, I had gotten used to flying at the right height- twelve feet off the ground. Neji told me that as I got used to flying around with my wings, I would be able to fly higher but I had to do it a foot at a time. I wasn't going to start doing that yet, because I had another issue with flying.

I had trouble turning. My turns were always wide and took quite a lot of time compared to Neji, who turned as quickly as he did when he was walking. I had to imagine turning, showing my brain what I wanted to do and how fast I wanted to go. Then, I had to memorize how my wings responded to the action, so I knew what muscles in my back to use to guide my wings in the right motion. It was much more difficult than turning around on land. The first few times I had attempted to turn I moved like I would when I was walking, but all I ended up doing was flying crookedly. Since I was flying, I was horizontal instead of vertical, and turning like that was quite hard…

It took me another day to master turning, and I could almost turn as fast as I could when I was walking. It was more graceful than quick, though, since I knew Father would rather that I took my time and looked like a Hyuuga should than to do it quickly and act disgracefully. After I had gotten a hold on how to fly correctly- just the basics, since I didn't have much time before I had to leave- I decided to start getting used to having my guards around.

Naruto, as I quickly found out after a few hours with him, was very energetic and playful- like a fox. He would shout loudly whenever he wanted to say something and he said almost everything that popped into his head. He often played tricks on the other guards- switching around shifts and hiding their uniforms. He always got found out eventually, though, because he was the only guard who played tricks so often that the others could quickly tell whether it was his style or not.

He also liked to eat a lot. For breakfast, he would have a large stack of pancakes, a huge bowl of eggs, four pieces of toast and a pile of bacon. For lunch and dinner, he would have at least five huge bowls of his favorite food- ramen. I couldn't understand how he could eat so much, but he never got sick from eating so much… so I believed it had something to do with how active he was. He was always running around, climbing things or sparring with the other knights. He didn't win often because he was quite reckless in the way he swung his sword around- even I could tell. It was pretty obvious that he was being quite half-hearted in sparring with the other knights. They were throwing taunts and jokes around the entire time, grins on their faces as their swords clashed.

It seemed to me that Naruto was only serious when the situation required him to be so. He was such a cheerful, energetic person that being serious often made him feel quite uncomfortable. He was quite friendly with everyone in the castle, as well. Talkative, always giving out compliments when he felt strongly about it… he was rather impulsive, but he easily grew on me. It was nice having him around- it made me feel warm. Like he was the sun, shining cheerfully throughout the day.

Shino, if anything, was the opposite of Naruto. He was silent and serious all the time. When Naruto played his tricks he was the one to tell people that he did it- only when they asked, though. He was very upfront and didn't beat around the bush. That was the only thing that Naruto and Shino probably had in common.

Shino would always be by my side and wouldn't stray off somewhere else like Naruto would. He would walk behind me, a few feet away, constantly on guard even in the castle. He never said anything to me- though he did answer questions with nods and a shake of his head when I asked him things. When I began to fly around for practice, he would watch me the entire time, as if memorizing what I did. He seemed to enjoy going to the forest with me… or, at least he relaxed a lot.

His fighting style was very thought out and efficient, with little error as far as I could tell. He didn't joke around with the others and was quite serious when sparring. It was hard to tell if he realized that he was just sparring with his fellow knights and not his enemies. I had the feeling that he was somewhat of a bookworm, though he couldn't read on the job, so I decided to go to the library tomorrow, as the last thing that I did before I left with Gaara to his kingdom.

_Now that I think about it… I haven't seen Gaara except for at meals. I wonder what he's been doing…?_ I thought as I walked into my bedroom to retire for the night.

I walked over to my desk and sat down, picking up my brush. Brushing my hair at night had become a habit for me the past few days. I didn't have enough time in the day to do it during the morning, so I did it after a nice, long bath. It was quite relaxing- the water was filled with herbs and spices to make it aromatic and relaxing. It also made me smell pleasant afterwards. Add the calming effects of brushing my hair, and I was completely relaxed and content, leaving me able to sleep soundly through the night. No need to lose any precious time trying to get enough energy to last through the rest of the day.

_I should ask what he's been up to tomorrow morn over breakfast_, I decided, putting down my brush and getting into bed.

I quickly fell asleep, plans for the next day fading away from my mind as sleep took over.

::-::-::

Drugging, delicious warmth covered my entire body and I sighed happily. My bed had never felt so soft before… the pillow seemed to cradle my head adoringly, gently. The bedding lay on top of me like a friend giving the warmest and most loving hug I had ever received. Light shined against my eyelids, making them turn red on the inside. The rays from the sun felt so nice on my face this morning… I didn't want to get up just yet. I curled farther into the warmth that surrounded me and began to drift off to sleep again.

A knock sounded on my door, startling me awake. I sat up slowly, yawning and stretching.

"Come in," I murmured, voice thick with sleep.

The door opened and I blinked at the red hair that met my surprised, groggy gaze. A few moments passed as I stared, silent, into the pale green eyes that I had come to know very well over our few encounters with each other. Gaara's eyes were filled with surprise that quickly changed into amusement as I flushed, squealed and hid under the covers. Only Neji had seen me in this state- my hair in wild disarray and still in my nightgown. Even then I had a little trouble acting normally around him. But to have Gaara… a _**male**_… I wasn't related to… come into my room when I looked like _**this**_…

_Oh, I want to crawl into a hole and never come out! This is so embarrassing… _

"My apologies, Princess Hinata. I did not know that I had just woken you from your slumber. However, it is time for breakfast and your father would like you to make haste and be there soon… And you shouldn't be embarrassed, Princess. I am a suitor for your hand in marriage, after all," Gaara told me, his voice sounding muffled from the blanket that I had wrapped around me.

"E-eh?!" I sat up, my face completely red as I stared at Gaara incredulously.

He smirked and bowed slightly, closing the door. "I'll see you in a few minutes, Princess Hinata."

I sat on the bed for a few seconds, trying to cool down my burning face to no avail. With a sigh, I got out of bed and opened my dresser, pulling out a plain white dress that had a blue sash sewn in around the waist. Quickly changed into it, not bothering to put on my corset and quickly pulled my hair into a neat bun, a blue ribbon tied around it that matched my sash. Slipping on a pair of black slippers, I quickly made my way to the dining room to eat… and ask Gaara what he had been up to the past few days.

::-::-::

It was too hard. I couldn't look at him, not after this morning. Every time I tried… I blushed and looked away, poking at the eggs on my plate with a fork. I felt ashamed of myself.

_It's not a big deal- he just saw the rat nest that is my hair in the morning. It is something he could have seen if I had stumbled out of the forest after my hair getting caught on twigs quite often. I'm sure that is bound to happen at some point. Just ask him, finish eating and go to the library with Shino,_ I told myself, building up my resolve.

"Prince Gaara, I'm quite curious… what have you been doing the past few days?" I asked him, finally meeting his gaze.

"Swimming."

"Is that what merfolk typically do in their spare time?" I asked.

He raised an eyebrow at me before turning to my father and gauging his reaction. His face hadn't changed at all- cold and uncaring ever since he sat down at the table. He turned back to me, his eyes filled with questions.

"Yes. We also practice singing."

"That's to lure people into the water… right?"

He nodded. "How much do you know?"

"I don't know much, but… you eat almost everything, right? Even bones?" I asked, quite curious despite the… topic that wasn't exactly appropriate for mealtimes.

"That is correct. We don't eat the hair, though," Gaara said, taking a gulp of water from his glass.

"Why not?"

"We use it for our helmets that we make. Occasionally we'll also use a skull or two-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but… can we please change the subject to something more… pleasant?" Maiko quickly interjected, looking slightly queasy.

I nodded and murmured an apology, as did Gaara. Our eyes met and we shared a small grin before quickly finishing the food on our plates. As etiquette dictated, we could not leave until Father was finished eating unless there was an emergency. Since there was no emergency as of this moment… we were stuck at the table.

_I don't have much time left- it's only a few hours until noon… I have to go to the library with Shino, eat lunch, and then prepare for my journey to the Western Kingdom with Gaara._

"What have you been doing, Hinata?" Gaara asked me, causing my attention to shift back to him.

"I was learning how to fly correctly. Neji was teaching me," I replied.

"Can I see your wings sometime?" he asked me, his eyes smiling at me.

"S-sure…" I murmured, my face turning pink.

Father stood up next to me, his chair squeaking as he pushed backwards. I glanced down at his empty plate and quickly stood up, leaving the room right after him. Shino and Naruto were waiting outside. I had stumbled halfway through one of Naruto's complaints and listened as he finished what he was telling Shino.

"So I still don't get why we can't be in the dining room with her- what if an enemy sneaks inside, you know? We won't get there as fast as if we were right by her side, believe it. Poor Hinata, stuck inside that room with that cold-hearted Father of hers. Hey, Shino, are you even listening?! Come on, show some emotion already! Say something or I'll beat some words outta ya, believe it!" he stood, panting in front of Shino, his face slightly red from all of his shouting.

I giggled at his antics. Naruto and Shino both turned in my direction. Naruto's face was full of surprise, which quickly transformed into sheepishness, causing him to rub the back of his head.

"Y-yo, Princess Hinata. How… um… How long had you been standing there?" he laughed nervously at the end.

"Not very long. I heard you call me 'Hinata' though. Don't worry, I don't mind. Just make sure you don't say that around others or Father will be angry when he finds out," I told him, giving him a warm smile.

"Alright!" he cheered, pumping his fist into the air.

I laughed again and then began to head to the library.

::-::-::

"This is soooooo boring, believe it! Princess Hinata, why do we have to be at the library the day before we leave? Can't we go on an adventure through the forest or something? Ugh… I'm gonna die from boredom!" Naruto whined, leaning back in his chair so the front legs were off of the floor.

"Sorry, Naruto, but I really wanted to come to the library. Besides, we've spent a lot of time outside because you wanted to- how about we let Shino do something that he wants to do?" I reasoned at which he pouted.

"Fine…" he sighed and moved his finger in a circular motion on the mahogany table we were sitting at.

I returned back to reading the book in my hands. It was one of my favorites. It was the story of how a woman was born into a poor, run down household and how she overcame many obstacles to better not only her life, but the life of her family. She trained with the knights of the kingdom, travelled to far off lands and got stronger every day. She also fell in love with the prince of another land, which made everything a tad bit more complicated. He found out that the knight was a woman, but protected not only her secret but the woman herself when they went out in battle. It was such a sweet, empowering story that I couldn't help but read over and over…

_Ah, if only I was like her! Strong, independent and courageous…_ I sighed, my heart full of wistfulness.

"Is there something wrong, Hinata-sama?" came the deep voice of Shino.

"No, it's just… I wish I was as strong as the woman in this story," I admitted shyly.

Shino put down the book that he had been reading, carefully marking the page that he had been on. He pushed the glasses he wore up higher on his nose and seemed to give me his full attention. "What is the heroine like?"

"Ah, well… She was born into a poor family and overcame many obstacles to better the lives of her and her family. She became a knight, travelled to far off lands and fell in love with a prince of another land."

"Well, you're kind of like that, aren't ya, Princess Hinata? You know, you're travelling to other lands, overcoming obstacles and you're gonna have to marry a prince from another land," Naruto said, scratching the top of his head.

"Eh? W-well, I guess…" I blushed and fidgeted.

Shino continued to stare at me for a few moments before he turned to stare at Naruto. "You beat me to the punch, Naruto. I never get to say anything with you around. It's unsatisfying."

"Then speak up faster! If you don't, I'll beat ya to it every time! Believe it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Shh!" sounded throughout the room, along with many irritated glances aimed our way.

I ducked down, hiding my head behind the book I was reading. I glanced at Naruto and tried to give him a 'we're-in-the-library-please-stay-quiet' look, but I wasn't sure if it came out right. Thankfully, he lapsed into silence. Shino began to stare at me again- or at least I could feel what seemed like his gaze honing in on me. I looked up into the dark lens of his glasses and timidly spoke up.

"Um, Shino? Is there something you wanted to ask of m-me?"

He continued to stare at me silently before speaking up. "I wanted to tell you a joke. Shall I tell you?"

"Eh? O-okay."

"… What do you call a cow with no legs?"

_A cow with no legs…? Um… So, they're usually white with black spots… So… um… On the ground…_

"A large mushroom?" I guessed.

"Possibly. But I would prefer to call it ground beef."

_Ground… beef…_

"AHAHAHAHAHAH! Shino, that's a good one! Ground beef! Hahahahahah!" Naruto pounded the table with his fist, belting out laugh after laugh at his joke.

The entire library called for silence again, and Naruto tried his best to hold in his fit of laughter, but it didn't seem to work because he ran out of the room holding his hands over his mouth as tears trickled out of his eyes. I giggled, both at Shino's attempt at humor and Naruto's spectacular departure.

"I'm glad that you find my joke amusing, Princess Hinata," Shino said, his face as blank as it usually was.

"It was a really good joke, Shino."

"Thank you, Princess Hinata."

_He's… quite odd, but he's a really nice person, _I thought, smiling as I returned to reading my book. Leaving with these two would on my travels through the other territories would be very fun- an entertaining adventure. For the first time since the mention of travelling to the other lands to live with my suitors, I was looking forward to going.

::-::-::

"Good luck, Lady Hinata. Oh, I can't believe it's already time for you to leave. I won't see you for so long… Is it all right if I send you letters every once in a while to keep in contact with you?" Tenten asked me as I brushed my hair into a low ponytail.

I smiled, blushing slightly. "I would like that very much, Tenten."

She beamed at me with delight. "Wonderful!"

I sighed shakily, feeling a bundle of nervousness and excitement take hold of my stomach. Three seasons of being away from my home- of being in areas where I wouldn't be comfortable or as safe as I was here. I bit my lip and stared at my reflection for a few moments. My eyes were wide with anxiousness, my cheeks flushed with a wary excitement. I shook my head, determined. I would become stronger. I could do this- just like my role model in my favorite story. Standing up, my white and grey gown swishing with the sound of silk rubbing against itself, I walked out the door, giving Tenten a nervous smile.

"Have a safe trip, and don't forget to fall in love! Ah, to be able to be in your shoes, Lady Hinata…" Tenten sighed wistfully, teasing.

"Oh, Tenten, please stop!" I blushed, scurrying out the door. "I'll return in nine months- please keep my room from becoming too dusty."

"Of course, Lady Hinata."

I walked down the hallway with my head held high. Of course, my pace was slower than usual. My eyes lingered on everything in the hallways, memorizing, reminiscing. These things wouldn't be able to come with me to the castles of the other kingdoms. I wouldn't walk these halls for nine months after today…

Eventually, I wound up outside the front doors, smiling in goodbye at the guards there. Father was not waiting outside like I assumed he would be. Then I realized that of course he wouldn't see me off- I was his least liked child, after all. Me leaving would be good for him- and when I returned with a husband, he would acknowledge that there is at least some worth to having me as his daughter. My eyes found Naruto and Shino waiting at the bottom of the marble stairs leading up to the entrance of the castle. I walked down quickly, a smile on my face for both of them. I would depend on these two for their companionship- I hoped they would do the same.

"Good morning, Shino, Naruto. Are you excited?" I asked.

"Good morning, Princess Hinata! I can't wait- finally, I can leave this castle and go on an adventure! This is going to be so much fun, believe it!" Naruto exclaimed, his blue eyes bright and a wide grin upon his face.

"Good morning, Princess Hinata. I'm quite excited as well," Shino said with his stoic expression.

I smiled at them, and looked out down the cobblestone path. About thirty yards away was a carriage where Gaara was leaning against it. It seemed as though he was looking this way and possibly frowning since we were dillydallying a bit. I blushed and began to head to the carriage quickly. Shino and Naruto trailed after me already on guard even though we were still in front of the castle. When we were a few yards away, Gaara pushed off of the carriage and made his way over to us. He wasn't frowning like I thought he was, but he wasn't exactly smiling either.

"Good morning, Princess Hinata," he said melodically.

"G-Good morning, Prince Gaara," I replied nervously.

"Are you ready to depart to my home?"

I blinked slowly and then smiled. "Yes. It is a pleasure to be able to spend the next few months with you, Prince Gaara."

"… The same to you." He turned and opened the door to the carriage.

The carriage was a light green in color with black vines going around the sides. It was a few feet taller than I was, and two beautiful white horses were leading the carriage. I stared at them in admiration for a few moments before they noticed and turned towards me. The one on the left had a black diamond upon its forehead and had dark brown eyes. It neighed loudly upon meeting my gaze and stopped its hooves playfully, tossing back its long white mane. The other had black eyes and its hair was grey. This one seemed to be the quieter of the two and only snorted and shook its mane slightly upon catching my eye. I assumed it was a greeting, so I smiled and curtsied at the two of them. Gaara looked at me and then towards the horses.

"The one on the left is Diamond Black- Diack, for short. The other is Grale, as in Grayscale. They're brothers," he told me.

"I see," I said, smiling.

I walked forward and gently ran my hands through both of their manes. "Hello, Diack, Grale. Thank you for putting up with me and taking me to your home. I look forward to the journey with you two."

Diack neighed happily and brushed his head against my cheek and Grale moved slightly, giving me more access to his mane. I giggled and ran my hand over their necks before walking back to Gaara. He took my hand in his- again, I blushed at the contact- and helped me into the carriage before entering after me. He shut the door and sat across from me, staring out the window. Immediately after he got settled into the carriage, we began to move. The interior of the carriage was as beautiful as the outside- the seats were a velvet, dark, forest-green. The sides were painted a very light blue, and the drapes over the windows were a dark red. The lining of the seats were gold, as were the tassels on the ends of the drapes. The seats were also quite comfortable- even more so than the ones that my own castle had.

I glanced at Gaara as he continued to watch the scenery go by outside the window, his chin in his hand, his red hair falling into his eyes. I blushed- he was quite the handsome prince, and I was really close to him sitting inside of this carriage… He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and caught me staring at him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Eh?! Um… N-nothing, I'm sorry," I murmured quickly before looking down at my hands.

"Hm." He turned back to look out the window and I sighed quietly.

This was going to be a long carriage ride- we were already starting out awkwardly and silently. _If Neji-niisan were here, then we'd be talking and laughing right now… _I thought. My eyes widened as I realized what I forgot to do before I left.

_I forgot to say goodbye to Neji-niisan! Oh, how horrible of me! I'll write him a letter as soon as I arrive at the Shibaku Clan's Kingdom, _I thought woefully. _Sorry, Neji-niisan. I'll see you in nine months. I promise I'll give you a huge hug as soon as I get back._

"I told Prince Neji last night that you said since you'll be tired in the morning that you probably won't remember to say goodbye, so to tell him that you wish him well and you'll be back soon."

I glanced up in shock into Gaara's green eyes. "T-thank you, Prince Gaara."

"You're welcome. But in exchange, you have to let me teach you how to swim."

"Eh?"

"It's obvious that you don't know how. Don't worry, I won't eat you. Probably." I gulped as his eyes flashed.

This was the start of my long nine months away from home- and so far, it was proving to be… different.

::-::-::

_A/N: Tada, new chapter! :D Honestly, I'm a horrible person. After I promised to update weekly… :/ I'm very sorry. So I'll tell you now- I'm actually pretty busy. I won't be able to update that often- maybe once or twice every two months at the most unless I manage to get some time on the weekend to work on this story. And that's without writer's block… which I seem to get quite often during uninteresting parts in my stories. So, I'm very sorry. But I'll try my best to update as often as I can for all you awesome people who take their time out of their busy schedules to read my story. ____ Then, I'll talk to you later!  
-Ame_

_P.S.: Did anyone else just go "Oh my gosh, Gaara sounds really hot- forget Sasuke, switch it to Gaara?" 'Cause I did. But I won't, because I'll regret it later when she gets to his kingdom. xD_


End file.
